The Linux Foundation announced the formation of the FinOps Foundation on August 20, 2020, to advance cloud financial management through shared practices, education, and standards. The announcement named 11 founding members, outlined an advisory council that included practitioners, and introduced launch-era partner and training programs. Its figures and program details describe the 2020 announcement—not the Foundation’s current membership, governance, or offerings.
What did the Linux Foundation announce?
The August 20, 2020 announcement formalized the FinOps Foundation as an initiative to advance cloud financial management. The Linux Foundation said the intent to form the organization had been made public at Open Source Summit North America in late June; August 20 was the formation announcement. The stated approach combined best practices, education, and standards. The Linux Foundation’s announcement is the source for the launch-era details below.
In the release’s account, the Foundation was intended to help organizations manage cloud spending as a shared organizational responsibility rather than a matter isolated to finance or technology teams.
What is FinOps in the announcement’s terms?
The release described FinOps as an operating model for cloud that brings together systems, best practices, and culture so organizations can understand cloud costs and make informed business decisions. It emphasized collaboration among technology, business, and finance professionals.
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That model links spending accountability to the teams and people closest to purchasing decisions, while centralized processes can improve purchasing efficiency and help allocate spend to teams. The announcement’s description is its 2020 framing; it should not be read as a claim about a newer formal definition.
Who were the founding members?
The Linux Foundation named these 11 organizations as founding members in 2020:
Rank #2
- Apptio
- Cloudeasier
- Cloudsoft
- CloudWize
- Contino
- Kubecost
- Neos
- Opsani
- ProsperOps
- Timspirit
- VMware
This is the launch announcement’s founding-member list, not a current membership directory.
How was the advisory council meant to combine industry and practitioner perspectives?
The announcement described a Technical Advisory Council with vendor-appointed representatives and practitioner seats. Its initial members were:
Rank #3
- Eugene Khvostov, VP of Product & Engineering at Apptio
- Matt Leonard, product management lead for Google Compute Cloud billing
- John McLoughlin, director of product management for CloudHealth by VMware
- Mike Fuller, principal systems engineer for FinOps at Atlassian
- Joseph Daly, director of cloud optimization at Nationwide
- Ashley Hromatko, senior manager of FinOps at Pearson
The release said the council’s charter called for a mix of appointed and elected members, including additional end-user practitioners to be added in the coming months. That describes the announced structure and planned additions at the time, not present-day governance.
Which partner and education programs were introduced?
The release announced three vetted partner categories. Their descriptions and named launch partners are historical details from 2020, not current endorsements or a current vendor shortlist.
FinOps Certified Platform
This was described as a pre-qualified tier for technology providers offering software to support cloud financial management practices. Launch partners named were Apptio Cloudability, CloudHealth by VMware, CloudWize, Kubecost, Opsani, and ProsperOps.
FinOps Certified Service Provider
This category covered pre-qualified providers described as offering FinOps support, consulting, professional services, and training. The named launch partners were Apptio, Cloudeasier, Cloudsoft, Contino, Neos, and Timspirit.
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FinOps Training Partner
The release described this as a selected group of vetted training providers. It named Apptio, Cloudeasier, Contino, and VMware as launch partners.
Member education
The announcement also pointed to a free “Introduction to FinOps” course on edX, which had launched that summer, and a FinOps Certified Practitioner Exam. The 2020 release does not establish whether the course or exam is available today.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What membership figures did the Foundation report in 2020?
The Linux Foundation reported nearly 2,000 individual practitioner members across the globe and more than 1,200 companies represented in its August 20, 2020 announcement. The release did not provide a survey method or further breakdown for either figure. They are dated launch-era claims, not current membership counts.
Why did the Foundation say it was needed?
The announcement positioned FinOps as a response to the need for closer collaboration on cloud procurement between IT and finance. J.R. Storment, then executive director of the FinOps Foundation, said: “With demand for new collaboration to support cloud procurement between IT and finance teams, the FinOps community is growing fast,” and added, “We have the infrastructure and governance in place to support this acceleration and provide best-in-class training and education opportunities to grow this discipline.”
Chris Aniszczyk, CTO of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, said: “CNCF looks forward to collaborating with the FinOps Foundation to improve cloud financial management for all.” These statements convey the organizations’ rationale and expectations at launch; they do not independently establish how the Foundation or its programs operate now.
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